Introduction:

Flow cytometry allows quantification of lymphocyte subpopulations with high sensitivity, specificity and objectivity. These advantages are only achieved through the hardworking process of individualized and controlled design for each experiment.

Objective:

To design a flow cytometry protocol of a single polychromatic tube for peripheral lymphocyte immunophenotype.

Methods:

An experimental in vitro study was carried out, in March 2019, with peripheral blood samples obtained from three healthy volunteers, at the National Center for Medical Genetics. The tube was made up of six lineage markers for identifying natural B and T lymphocytes, natural killers and natural killer T cells. A protocol was developed for red blood cell lysis without washing. Fluorochrome-conjugated monoclonal antibodies were used. The optimal point of concentration corresponded to the highest staining index and preservation of the positivity percentages of each population. Progressive tube construction was performed and a logical window sequence strategy was proposed for data analysis.

Results:

The chosen markers allowed to carry out correct peripheral lymphocyte immunophenotype. Good discriminations between positive and negative signals were observed at the five titration points, except for anti-CD56, which presented a decreasing trend in the staining index. The total volume of conjugates required for determination of the six antigens was 3.75 μL per tube.

Conclusions:

A polychromatic tube was obtained that allows to carry out peripheral immunophenotype quickly and precisely by six lymphocyte antigens simultaneously, with the use of small volumes of conjugate and blood.

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